PNIVEBSITY  OF    CALIFORNIA   PUBLICATIOH8 

COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 


COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS 
IN  CALIFORNIA 


BY 

EDWIN  C.   VOORHIES 


BULLETIN  No.  314 

October,  1919 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PRESS 

BERKELEY 

1919 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  STAFF 

Heads  of  Divisions 

Thomas  Forsyth  Hunt,  Dean. 

Edward  J.  Wickson,  Horticulture  (Emeritus). 

Walter  Mulford,  Forestry,  Director  of  Resident  Instruction. 

Herbert  J.  Webber,  Director  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

B.  H.  Crocheron,  Director  of  Agricultural  Extension. 
Hubert  E.  Van  Norman,  Vice-Director;  Dairy  Management. 

James  T.  Barrett,  Acting  Director  of  Citrus  Experiment  Station;  Plant  Pathology. 
William  A.  Setchell,  Botany. 
Myer  E.  Jaffa,  Nutrition. 
Charles  W.  Woodworth,  Entomology. 
Ralph  E.  Smith,  Plant  Pathology. 
J.  Eliot  Coit,  Citriculture. 
John  W.  Gilmore,  Agronomy. 
Charles  F.  Shaw,  Soil  Technology. 
John  W.  Gregg,  Landscape  Gardening  and  Floriculture. 
Frederic  T.  Bioletti,  Viticulture  and  Enology. 
Warren  T.  Clarke,  Agricultural  Extension. 
John  S.  Burd,  Agricultural  Chemistry. 
Charles  B.  Lipman,  Soil  Chemistry  and  Bacteriology. 
Clarence  M.  Haring,  Veterinary  Science  and  Bacteriology. 
Ernest  B.  Babcock,  Genetics. 
Gordon  H.  True,  Animal  Husbandry. 
Fritz  W.  Woll,  Animal  Nutrition. 
W.  P.  Kelley,  Agricultural  Chemistry. 
H.  J.  Quayle,  Entomology. 
Elwood  Mead,  Rural  Institutions. 
H.  S.  Reed,  Plant  Physiology. 
J.  C.  Whitten,  Pomology. 
fFRANK  Adams,  Irrigation  Investigations. 

C.  L.  Roadhouse,  Dairy  Industry. 

F.  L.  Griffin,  Agricultural  Education. 
John  E.  Dougherty,  Poultry  Husbandry. 
S.  S.  R,ogers,  Olericulture. 
L.  J.  Fletcher,  Agricultural  Engineering. 
Edwin  C.  Voorhies,  Assistant  to  the  Dean. 

Division  of  Animal  Husbandry 

Gordon  H.  True  F.  W.  Woll 

J.  I.  Thompson  IEdwin  C.  Voorhies 

J.  F.  Wilson  C.  V.  Castle 

Paul  I.  Dougherty  G.  H.  Wilson 


f  In  co-operation   with  office  of  Public  Roads  and  Rural  Engineering,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

X  Resigned  July   1,   1910,  to  become  Assistant  to  the  Dean. 


COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA 

By  EDWIN  C.  VOORHIES 


OBJECT 

The  farmers  of  California  at  the  present  time  are  milking  about 
600,000  cows.  The  average  butterfat  production  per  cow  in  this  state 
is  probably  not  over  160  pounds  and  there  are  many  cows  producing 
over  300  and  400  pounds  of  fat  per  year,  hence  there  must  be  many 
producing  less  than  160  pounds.  If  the  average  price  of  butterfat  for 
the  past  three  years  had  been  50  cents  per  pound,  the  average  annual 
income  per  cow  for  butterfat  alone  would  have  been  $80.00.  In  many 
portions  of  the  state  one  would  be  scarcely  able  to  feed  a  cow  for  this 
amount  of  return. 

The  above  figures  suggest  that  there  is  and  probably  always  will 
be  a  field  for  improvement  in  the  production  of  our  cows.  Increases 
in  the  average  yearly  butterfat  or  milk  production  can  be  brought 
about  by  ridding  the  herds  of  the  poor  producers,  by  using  better  sires, 
and  by  better  feed  and  management. 

There  is  no  means  of  determining  accurately  the  production  of  a 
cow  without  weighing  and  testing  the  milk  at  regular  intervals.  It  is 
true  that  by  means  of  conformation  we  can  often  select  the  high  and 
the  low  producer  with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty.  But  conformation 
does  not  give  one  the  exact  information  as  to  production  that  the  dairy- 
men should  have.  A  great  many  dairymen  could  test  and  keep  their 
own  records,  but  the  most  satisfactory  and,  in  the  long  run,  the  least 
expensive  method  of  having  this  work  done  is  by  joining  a  cow-testing 
association. 

The  cow-testing  association  is  simply  an  organization  of  farmers 
who  unite  for  the  purpose  of  employing  a  trained  man  to  weigh  and 
test  the  milk  of  every  cow  in  the  herds  of  the  association  at  monthly 
intervals.  Thus  a  record  of  every  cow  in  the  herd  is  obtained  at  the 
end  of  the  year  without  any  trouble  on  the  part  of  the  individual  dairy- 
man. 

HISTORY 

Cow-testing  associations  have  passed  the  experimental  stage.  The 
first  one  was  organized  in  Denmark  in  1895  and  the  idea  of  the  associa- 
tion rapidly  spread  to  the  surrounding  countries  of  Europe.  Mr. 
Helmar  Rabild,  now  in  charge  of  Dairy  Farming  Investigations,  Bureau 


158 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


of  Animal  Industry,  Washington,  D.C.,  founded  the  first  association 
in  the  United  States  at  Fremont,  Michigan,  in  1905.  The  Ferndale 
Association  in  Humboldt  County,  was  the  first  to  be  established  in  this 
state  in  1909. 

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Since  the  formation  of  this  association  there  have  been  many  others 
formed  in  different  parts  of  the  state.  At  the  present  time  there  are 
fifteen  cow  testing  associations  operating  within  the  state.  These 
associations  comprise  some  400  herds  containing  approximately  15,000 
cows.  This  means  that  only  2J  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  cows 
in  the  State  of  California  are  in  cow-testing  associations.  Allowing  for 
a  small  number  of  pure-bred  cows  on  semi-official  test  and  for  a  relatively 


Bulletin  314        cow  TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA 


159 


few  tested  by  private  individuals  definite  information  is    obtained  as 
to  the  production  of  only  one  cow  in  30  or  40. 

During   the   war   the    cow-testing   associations    suffered    severely. 
Many  were  forced  to  discontinue  owing  to  the  loss  of  testers.     At  the 


COW  TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS. 

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present  time  many  of  the  old  associations  have  reorganized;  others 
are  getting  ready  to  resume  testing  and  by  the  end  of  the  present  year 
California  will  have  more  cow-testing  associations  than  ever  before. 
Fifteen  is,  however,  a  very  small  number  as  there  is  room  for  at  least 
200  such  associations  in  this  state. 

The  number  of  cow-testing  associations  in  the  United  States  in 
operation  during  1916-17,  inclusive,  with  the  number  of  herds  and  cows 


160  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

included  in  the  associations  on  July  1,  1917,  will  be  seen  from  tables 
I  and  II.  It  will  be  noted  that  on  July  1,  1917,  there  were  in  all  459 
cow-testing  associations  in  operation  in  the  United  States,  distributed 
in  40  different  states.  These  associtations  included  nearly  12,000 
different  herds,  with  a  total  of  about  212,000  cows.  Large  as  this 
number  may  seem,  it  is  only  0.91  or  less  than  1  per  cent,  of  the  total 
cow  population  of  the  country. 

A  directory  of  California  cow-testing  associations  in  active  opera- 
tion July  1,  1919,  is  included  in  table  III,  which  gives  the  name  of  each 
association,  the  name  and  address  of  its  secretary,  year  organized,  and 
number  of  herds  and  individual  cows  in  each  association. 


ORGANIZATION 

Any  dairy  community  which  possesses  a  sufficiently  large  number 
of  cows  may  form  a  cow-testing  association.  Theoretically  there  should 
be  twenty-six  herds  in  each  association,  owing  to  the  fact  that  there 
are  twenty-six  working  days  in  the  month.  However,  the  number 
of  cows  in  a  community  is  the  more  important  consideration.  Most 
of  the  testers  in  California  take  care  of  1000  cows  or  thereabout.  In 
the  eastern  states  and  in  Europe,  the  tester  keeps  an  account  of  the 
amount  of  feed  given  to  each  animal,  as  well  as  weighing  and  testing 
the  milk  of  each  cow.  Owing  to  the  peculiar  feeding  conditions  in  this 
state  the  tester  has  not  been  called  upon  to  make  these  calculations, 
hence  his  ability  to  test  the  larger  number  of  cows. 

When  it  is  desired  to  organize  a  cow-testing  association  in  a  com- 
munity the  first  step  necessary  is  to  ascertain  the  sentiment  in  regard 
to  the  matter  among  the  farmers  that  might  be  interested.  If  a  farm 
advisor  is  present  in  the  county,  he  can  always  be  counted  upon  to  lend 
his  aid  in  promoting  the  association.  Creameries  will  also  do  their 
utmost  in  fostering  these  associations.  If  enough  interest  is  manifested, 
a  meeting  should  be  called  of  all  the  dairymen  in  the  community,  in 
order  that  information  may  be  disseminated  as  to  the  objects  of  the 
association,  methods  of  organization,  etc.  Before  the  da'te  is  set  it  is 
well  to  get  in  touch  with  the  Animal  Husbandry  Division  of  the  College 
of  Agriculture.  This  division  will  if  possible,  send  a  representative  to 
explain  in  detail  the  operation  of  the  association  and  will  aid  in  its 
organization. 

A  copy  of  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  a  cow-testing  association 
is  included  in  the  appendix  of  this  bulletin.  It  is  well  to  find  out  at 
the  end  of  such  meeting  just  how  many  dairymen  wish  to  join.  In 
some  associations  the  dairymen  have  signed  up  only  a  few  of  the  total 


ASSOCIATIONS 


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162 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


number  of  their  cows.  This  is  a  mistake,  for  unless  one  intends  to 
cull  the  unprofitable  cows  from  his  herd,  it  is  useless  to  join  a  cow- 
testing  association.  As  a  rule,  men  who  join  merely  on  account  of 
community  spirit  do  more  harm  than  they  do  good.  The  only  man 
wanted  in  a  cow-testing  association  should  be  the  man  who  has  the 
betterment  of  his  herd  in  mind. 


Table  2. — The  Number  of  Herds  and  Cows  Under  Test  July  1,  1917,  in  Co- 
operative Cow-Testing  Associations* 

Average  per  Association 

Number      Number  Number ■ 

State  Ass'ns  Herds  Cows  Herds  Cows 

Arizona 2  50  1130  25  565 

California 15  581  18805  38.7  1253.6 

Colorado 3  78  1701  29  567 

Connecticut 3  118  2026  39.3  675.3 

Delaware 3  76  1120  25.3  373.3 

Idaho 1  25  560  25  560 

Illinois 17  449  9038  26.4  531.6 

Indiana '. 9  161  2176  17.8  241.7 

Iowa 30  738  9412  24.6  313.7 

Kansas 4  77  1370  19.2  342.5 

Maine 5  149  1355  29.8  271 

Maryland 8  130  2810  16.2  351.2 

Massachusetts 4  135  2175  33.8  543.7 

Michigan 15  408  5642  27.2  376.1 

Minnesota 26  697  10544  26.8  405.5 

Missouri 5  91  1905  18.2  381     _ 

Montana 2  43  790  21.5  395 

Nebraska 4  51  800  12.7  200 

New  Hampshire 12  317  4790  26.4  399 

New  Jersey 8  146  3671  18.2  458.8 

New  York 43  1022  21153  23.7  491.9 

New  Mexico 1  17  275  17  275 

Nevada 1  30  623  30  623 

Ohio 30  750  10229  25  340.9 

Oregon 17  444  8232  26.1  484.2 

Pennsylvania 24  668  10077  27.8  419.8 

South  Dakota 3  74  1038  24.6  346 

Tennessee 8  154  3025  19.2  378.1 

Vermont 47  1000  22575  21.2  480.3 

Virginia 4  73  1770  18.2  442.5 

Washington 18  526  11051  29.2  613.9 

West  Virginia 1  25  324  25  324 

Wisconsin 81  2387  39334  29.4  485.6 

Wyoming 1  30  440  30  440 

Total 455  11720  211966  25.7  465.7 

Number  of  milk  cows  in  the  U.  S.  July  1,  1917 23,372,200 

Number  of  cows  in  Cow-Testing  Associations less  than  one  per  cent.  (0.91%) 

♦From  reports  U.S.D.A. 


Bulletin  314       cow  testing  associations  in  California 


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BULLETIN  314         C0W   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA  165 

THE  TESTER 

The  most  important  factor  making  for  the  success  of  a  cow-testing 
association  is  the  tester,  the  man  who  weighs  and  samples  the  milk, 
makes  the  tests,  and  keeps  the  records.  The  tester  is  the  employee 
of  the  association.  Graduates  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  of  the 
University  Farm  School  are  often  available  for  this  work  for  a  few 
years  after  graduation  and  have  given  splendid  satisfaction.  The 
tester  is  usually  guided  by  the  secretary  of  the  association,  who  is  the 
real  executive.  The  testers  should  be  men  of  some  practical  dairy 
experience,  who  are  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Babcock  test.  The 
wages  paid  to  testers  in  this  state  vary  from  $75  to  $125  per  month  in 
addition  to  board  and  lodging.  In  many  associations  the  tester  is 
required  to  furnish  his  own  conveyance  (usually  a  Ford).  A  very 
satisfactory  plan  has  been  for  the  tester  to  furnish  both  his  conveyance 
and  testing  supplies,  at  a  flat  rate  per  cow,  and  receive  all  or  nearly  all 
the  money  collected  for  the  testing. 

The  tester  visits  the  dairy  once  each  month.  He  remains  on  the 
farm  until  he  completes  his  testing;  this  ordinarily  will  take  one  day 
only,  but  in  the  case  of  large  dairies  it  may  take  4  or  5  days.  The  milk 
of  the  evening  and  following  morning  is  weighed  and  a  combined  sample 
from  these  two  milkings  is  obtained  and  tested.  The  amount  of  milk 
and  butterfat  produced  in  24  hours  multiplied  by  the  number  of  days 
in  the  month  is  taken  as  the  cow's  monthly  production.  The  tester 
makes  his  calculations  before  leaving  the  dairy  and  writes  the  results 
in  the  herd  book  kept  by  the  dairyman  and  furnished  to  him  by  the 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  (fig.  3).  The  tester  also  keeps  a  record 
of  the  tests  (fig.  4).  Each  cow  is  given  a  separate  page  in  the  herd 
book  and  at  the  close  of  the  year's  work,  the  amounts  of  milk  and  fat 
are  totaled.  The  testing  outfit  usually  consists  of  a  24-bottle  hand 
Babcock  tester  with  the  necessary  glassware,  some  bottles,  spring 
balance,  a  milk  pail  for  weighing  the  milk,  and  a  heating  apparatus 
(fig.  5).  The  main  dairy  supply  houses  in  this  state  are  now  equipped 
to  handle  all  the  demands  made  on  them  for  testing  materials. 

COST 

The  charge  per  cow  for  testing  in  the  associations  of  this  state  varies 
from  $1  to  $2  per  year.  In  some  associations  a  certain  sum  is  charged 
for  each  test  for  a  cow,  viz.,  12  or  15  cents.  The  danger  in  doing  this 
is  that  in  some  months  a  dairyman  may  decide  not  to  have  all  of  his 
herd  tested.  Testing  does  not  help  a  farmer  greatly  unless  every  cow 
in  his  herd  is  put  on  test.     Where  a  flat  rate  is  charged  per  year,  the 


166 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


amount  due  is  payable  in  advance.  The  most  satisfactory  method 
for  collecting  has  been  to  arrange  with  creameries,  pooling  associations, 
etc.,  to  deduct  the  cost  of  testing  from  the  check  of  the  dairyman  at 
stated  intervals.  Where  the  association  was  organized  and  is  operated 
under  the  direction  of  the  Farm  Bureau,  settlement  for  testing  done  is 
made  by  the  secretary  of  the  Bureau,  or  of  the  committee  in  charge  of 
the  cow-testing  association. 


UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 

DAIRY  DIVISION. 


Ou»i>«r, 


Date, 

NUMBERS  OF  COWS  BRED  Stfftf  LAST  TESTING,  DAY 


5w 
t'lM^^/z,  'if 


».  D.  21fi 11-11-10— 2.5C& 


Fig.  4. — Page  from  barn  book  kept  by  tester.     Dairyman  is  given  duplicate  copy 
of  this  record. 


Bulletin  314        cow  TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS  IN   CALIFORNIA 


167 


RESULTS  OF  COW  TESTING  ASSOCIATION  WORK 


In  order  to  show  what  progress  has  been  made  data  have  been  tabu- 
lated from  many  of  the  cow-testing  associations  operating  in  the  state. 
The  tabulations  have  been  made  from  associations  in  widely  separated 
portions  of  the  state.  Many  dairymen  have  had  an  idea  that  their 
section  is  peculiar  and  that  although  improvement  may  be  possible  by 
means  of  testing  in  other  sections,  the  same  results  would  not  show  up 


Fig.  5. — Cow-tester  at  work. 

in  their  own  region.  The  data  presented  in  the  following  will,  we  be- 
lieve show  that  this  is  not  correct  and  that  cow-testing  associations  may 
bs  depended  upon  to  cause  an  improvement  in  dairy  herds  of  all  as- 
sociations, without  regard  to  the  section  where  they  are  located. 

FERNDALE  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

The  Ferndale  Association  is  located  in  Humboldt  County  in  one 
of  the  most  highly  specialized  dairy  sections  of  the  state.  Through 
the  courtesy  of  the  officers  and  members  of  the  Ferndale  Association, 
the  writer  has  had  access  to  many  of  the  records  made. 

In  1912,  Professor  Leroy  Anderson  of  the  University  of  California, 
published  the  results  of  three  years'  work  of  this  association.*     Eight 


*Bulletin  233,  California  Experiment  Station. 


168  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

members  were  in  the  association  for  three  consecutive  years  from  the 
beginning.  These  herds  comprised  approximately  600  cows,  or  about 
one  half  the  total  number  under  test  each  year. 

Most  of  the  cows  in  this  section  are  dry  during  the  early  part  of  the 
rainy  season  and  come  in  generally  during  February  to  April.  The 
records  summarized  in  this  Bulletin  contain  lactation  periods  of  over 
six  months  (unless  otherwise  stated).  All  records  of  cows  tested  for 
periods  of  less  than  six  months  are  excluded. 

Table  4. — Summary  of  Average  Production  for  Each  Year  . 
(Eight  Herds — Three  Years) 

Number         Average  Average  Gain 

Year  Cows  lbs.  Milk  lbs.  Fat  lbs.  Fat 

1909 : 581    5,900     251      ... 

1910...., 601    6,483     277      26.0 

1911 609         6,890  291.5  14.5 

The  above  table  shows  a  gain  of  approximately  40  pounds  of  fat 
per  cow  in  two  years.  At  50  cents  per  pound,  this  is  an  average  gain 
of  $20  per  cow.  If  the  average  cost  of  testing  is  $1.50  per  cow,  a  net 
gain  of  $17  per  cow  is  shown.  If  this  gain  of  $17  was  possible  with 
very  few  cows  in  the  Ferndale  region,  it  might  also  be  possible  with  the 
other  herds  of  the  state.  In  this  case  it  would  mean  an  additional 
annual  return  of  over  $5,000,000.  The  records  of  three  herds  in  this 
association  are  available  for  nine  consecutive  years  and  are  given  in 
Table  5. 

Table  5. — Records  of  Three  Herds  in  Ferndale  Cow-Testing 

Association,  1909-1917 
1909 

Number  Total  Average  Total  Average 

Herd  number  cows  lbs.  milk  lbs.  milk  lbs.  fat  lbs.  fat 

Herd  No.  1 68  382,584         5626  13,953.8,  205.2 

Herd  No.  2 ....       123  724,349         5889  27,975.1,  227.4 

Herd  No.  3 30  196,326         6544  10,022.3  334.1 

221         1,303,259         5897        -     51,951.2  235.1 

1910 

Herd  No.  1 69           435,324  6309  16,888.8  244.5 

Herd  No.  2 121            858,031  7091  33,845.9  279.7 

Herd  No.  3 34         232,899  6850  11,896.1  349.9 

224         1,526,254         6796  62,630.8  279.6 

1911 

Herd  No.  1 67           454,532  6784  17,402.2  259.7 

Herd  No.  2 123           932,684  7583  37,094.8  301.6 

Herd  No.  3 33           243,691  7384  12,284.0  372.2 

223         1,730,907         7762  66,781.0  299.5 


Bulletin  314        cow  TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA 


169 


Table  5 — {Continued) 
1912 

Number              Total  Average 

Herd  number                             cows              lbs  milk  lbs.  milk 

Herd  No.  1 105           691,109  6582 

Herd  No.  2 113           855,646  7572 

Herd  No.  3 36           256,473  7124 

. -i 

254         1,803,228  7099 

1913 

Herd  No.  1 108           696,152  6446 

Herd  No.  2* 130           817,440  6288 

Herd  No.  3 35           252,662  7219 

273         1,766,254  6469 
*Floods  on  this  Farm  during  winter. 

1914 

Herd  No.  1 71     472,303  6652 

Herd  No.  2 132    1,016,344  6942 

Herd  No.  3 33     227,259  6887 

236    1,715,906  7271 

1915 

Herd  No.  1 71     444,854  6265 

Herd  No.  2 117     742,610  6347 

Herd  No.  3 29     198,913  6169 

217    1,386,377  6389 

1916 

Herd  No.  1 69           426,331  6179 

Herd  No.  2* 

Herd  No.  3 35     274,755  7850 

1917 

Herd  No.  1 77           486,332  6316 

Herd  No.  2 114           862,304  7564 

Herd  No.  3 35           303,058  8619 

226     '   1,651,694  7308 
*Records  not  available. 


Total 
lbs.  fat 

Average 
lbs.  fat 

27,860.4 
35,380.2 

265.3 
313.1 

13,139.9 

365.0 

76,380 . 5 

300.7 

28,163.9 
35,763.0 
12,374.2 

260.7 
275.1 
353.9 

76,301.1 


19,546.7 
40,774 . 8 
11,235.2 


279.5 


275.3 
308.9 
340.5 


71,556.7 

303.2 

19,736.3 

277.9 

32,795.1 

280.3 

9,993.7 

344.6 

62,525.1 

288.1 

19,563.2 

283.5 

15,382.5 

439.5 

22,522 . 5 

292.5 

39,484.4 

344.6 

17,006.5 

485.9 

79,013.4 


349.6 


It  will  be  noted  that  there  is  a  large  increase  in  the  production 
in  the  three  herds  included  in  Table  5  from  an  average  of  235.1  pounds 
of  butterfat  in  1909  to  349.6  pounds  of  fat  in  1917,  an  increase  of  114.5 
pounds  of  butterfat.  Consider  for  a  moment  what  such  an  increase 
would  mean  in  your  own  herd. 

Table  5  and  the  following  tables  illustrate  the  necessity  for  continued 
testing  year  after  year.  Oftentimes  the  average  production  of  a  herd 
may  go  down  in  the  third  and  fourth  year  of  the  association,  due  to 
the  number  of  heifers  being  included  in  the  herd.     Again,  rainfall  and 


170 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


climate  in  many  sections  has  an  extremely  important  influence  on  pro- 
duction. If  one  expects,  however,  to  make  progress,  continued  culling 
year  after  year  must  be  resorted  to.  The  higher  the  production  goes 
the  more  difficulty  one  has  of  maintaining  the  high  average  production. 
Hence,  there  is  even  a  greater  necessity  of  culling  out  the  low  producers. 
The  following  three  tables  show  the  improvement  that  has  been 
made  by  these  herds  in  the  consecutive  years  of  testing  since  they  entered 
the  Ferndale  Cow-Testing  Association. 


Table  6. — Record  of  Herd  Number  1  in  Ferndale 

(Arranged  by  Years) 

Number             Total  Total 

Year                                              cows              lbs.  milk  lbs.  fat 

1st  Year 68           382,584  13,953.8 

2ndYear 69           435,324  16,888.8 

3rd  Year 66           454,532  17,402.2 

4th  Year 105            691,109  27,860.4 

5th  Year 108           696,152  28,163.9 

6th  Year 71            472,203  19,546.7 

7th  Year 71            444,854  19,763.3 

8th  Year 69           426,331  19,563.2 

9th  Year 77           486,332  22,522.5 

Year       1st           2nd           3rd  4th           5th 
Number  producing — 

More  than  200  lbs.  fat 37             56             55  71             89 

Less  than  200  lbs.  fat 32             10             11  34             19 

Highest  individual  production 306.4       369.8       415.3  385.17     411.68 

Lowest  individual  production 99.4         93.3       124.1  79.94     122.62 


Average 
lbs.  milk 

Average 
lbs.  fat 

per  cow 

per  cow 

5626 

205.2 

6309 

244.5 

6784 

259.7 

6582 

265.3 

6446 

260.7 

6652 

275.3 

6266 

277.9 

6179 

283.5 

6316 

292.5 

6th 

7th 

i           8th 

9th 

57 
14 

59 
12 

64 
5 

71 
6 

383 . 66 

478. 

22     447.91 

493.78 

106.49 

117. 

12     171.47 

98.70 

Table  7. — Herd  Number  2 
(Arranged  by  Years) 


Number  Total 

Year  cows             lbs.  milk 

1st  Year 123           724,349 

2nd  Year 121            858,031 

3rd  Year 123            932,684 

4th  Year 113           855,646 

5th  Year 130           817,440 

6th  Year 132         1,016,344 

7th  Year 117           742,610 

8th  Year 

9th  Year 114           862,304 

10th  Year 125           980,588 

Year       1st  2nd           3rd 
Number  producing — 

More  than  200  lbs.  fat.       83  103           111 

Less  than  200  lbs.  fat...       40  18             12 

Highest  individual  produc- 
tion   378.0  487.9       481.0 

Lowest  individual  produc- 
tion   114.3  125.1       109.1 


4th 

96 

17 


Total 
lbs.  fat 

27,975.1 
33,845.9 
37,094.8 
35,380.2 
35,763.0 
40,774.8 
32,795.0 

39,289.0 
45,545.7 


5th 

98 
32 


6th 

110 
22 


Average 
lbs.  milk 
per  cow 

5889 
7091 
7583 
7572 
6288 
6942 
6347 


7564 

7844 

7th 

96 
21 


Average 
lbs.  fat 
per  cow 

227.4 
279.7 
301.6 
313.1 
275.1 
308.9 
280.3 

344.6 
364.5 


8th 


9th 

108 
6 


449.08     419.16     461.05     458.18 
117.51       93.06     121.67     121.19 


10th 

124 
1 


539.1   579.7 
155.91  136.9 


BULLETIN  314         cow   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA 


171 


Table  8. — Herd  Number  3,  Ferndale  Association 
(Arranged  by  Years) 

Average 

Number  Total  Total  lbs.  milk 

Year                                              cows  lbs.  milk  lbs.  fat  per  cow 

1st  Year 30  196,326  10,022.3  6544.0 

2ndYear 34  232,899  11,896.4  6849.9 

3rd  Year 33  243,691  12,284.7  7384.4 

4th  Year 36  256,473  13,139.9  7124.2 

5th  Year 35  252,662  12,374.2  7218.9 

6th  Year 33  227,259  11,235.2  6886.6 

7th  Year 29  198,913  9,993.7  6169.4 

8th  Year 35  274,755  15,381.8  7850.0 

9th  Year 35  303,058  17,008.6.  8658.8 

Year       1st  2nd           3rd  4th           5th  6th 
Number  in  this  herd  producing — 

More  than  200  lbs.  fat 27  33             33  33             35  31 

Less  than  200  lbs.  fat 3  10  3                0  2 

Highest  individual  production  fat,  lbs.  553.4  548.5       609.7  677.3       514.8  483.6 

Lowest  individual  production  fat,  lbs.  191.1  184.2       212.3  108.1       235.7  165.1 


Average 
lbs.  fat 

per  cow 

334.1 

349.9 

372 . 2 

365.0 

353.5 

340.5 

344.6 

439.5 

485.9 

7th           8th 

9th 

29             35 

35 

0               0 

0 

576 .9       693 . 8 

710.4 

218.2       252.3 

208.2 

Although  the  records  already  given  show  improvement,  Table  9 
gives  the  records  of  a  herd  showing  even  better  results  for  the  first  three 
years  of  testing. 


Table  9. — Improvement  in  Production  During  Three  Years  of  Cow-Testing 

Association  Work 


Number  Total  Total 

Year  cows  lbs.  milk  lbs.  fat 

1st  Year 77  547,901  23,746.3 

2ndYear 52  393,301  18,315.3 

3rd  Year 53  447,589  22,284.7 


Average 
lbs.  milk 
per  cow 

7115.6 
7563 . 5 
8445.0 


Average 
lbs.  fat 
per  cow 

308.4 
352.2 
420.5 


While  it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  the  average  herd  in  this  state 
can  hope  to  make  such  a  decided  improvement  in  three  years'  time,  the 
records  of  the  above  herd  illustrate  what  can  be  done  by  means  of  rigid 
culling.  The  total  fat  for  the  third  year  approaches  the  amount  of 
the  first  year  with  24  less  cows.  This  means  one  less  string  to  milk  and 
feed,  one  less  man  to  hire,  all  of  which  goes  to  increase  the  net  returns. 

Table  10  gives  a  summary  of  seven  years'  work  of  the  Ferndale 
Association  from  1912  to  1918.  Complete  records  are  not  available 
for  the  first  three  years  of  work.  The  list  includes  all  cows  in  the  as- 
sociation tested  for  over  six  months.  The  improvement  in  herds  after 
testing  in  even  old  established  dairy  localities  is  plainly  shown  by  the 
number  of  cows  producing  less  than  200  pounds  of  butterfat. 


172 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Table  10. — Summary  of  Seven  Years'  Work,  Ferndale  Cow-Testing 

Association 

Year  1912     1913     1914     1915     1916     1917     1918 

No.  of  Cows 1091  1339  2100  2950  3014  2213  3193 

600-700  lbs.  fat 1  3  ....  ....  4  4  12 

500-600  lbs.  fat 9  11  6  5  13  18  74 

400-500  lbs.  fat 72  64  63  91  118  158  345 

300-400  lbs.  fat 314  404  569  696  752  771  860 

200-300  lbs.  fat 477  505  963  1324  1437  957  1360 

Under  200  lbs.  fat....  218  288  499  834  639  306  437 

The  future  of  a  dairy  herd  must  depend  on  the  calves  that  are  to 
be  raised.  Few  people  can  expect  to  increase  the  production  of  their 
herds  by  buying  cows  from  other  herds  (on  the  outside).  By  testing 
year  after  year  one  has  an  invaluable  guide  for  selecting  calves  for  the 
future  herd.  In  Table  11,  the  record  for  production  of  the  cows  and 
heifers  in  a  certain  herd  from  1909  to  1917  are  included.  Note  from  this 
table  the  records  of  the  heifers  coming  fresh  for  the  first  time  in  1916 
and  1917.  It  is  no  small  wonder  that  such  a  herd  as  this  can  show 
improvement. 


Cow 
1 

Age 
6 
3 

n 

3 
5 
6 
6 
6 
9 
4 
4 
4 
5 
5 
4 
6 
2 
6 
8 
6 
4 
3 
3 
4 
6 
3 
7 
6 
2 

1909 
Lbs.  fat 

339.9 

175.5 

267.8 

425.6 

261.8 

484.9 

244.3 

370.3 

399.9 

325.6 

355 , 1 

383.8 

396.2 

314.4 

343.2 

376.5 

282.9 

391.0 

237.7 

281.2 

435 . 6 

339.3 

220.6 

198.8 

553.0 

394.6 

348.0 

329.2 

325.8 

1910 
Lbs.  fat 

375.8 

340  6 

247.0 

495.0 

1911 
Lbs.  fat 

394 . 89 

383.80 

Table 

1912 
Lbs.  fat 

371 . 23 

441.67 

11. 

1913 
Lbs.  fat 

300.29 

360 . 44 

1914 
Lbs.  fat 

258 . 93 

363 . 24 

1915 
Lbs.  fat 

224 . 63 

351.57 

1916 
Lbs.  fat 

1917 
Lbs .  fat 

2 
3 

489 . 92 

370.23 

4 

5 

6 

7 

483.5 
240.8 
391.8 
380.2 
88.2 
316.9 
427.3 
386.8 
359.5 
334.5 
327.8 
384.7 
427.7 

609.7 

222.48 

395.89 

440.8 

418.9 

619.0 
329.30 
273.94 
470.09 

429 . 77 

464 . 54 
299.88 

483.56 

576.86 

693.82 

525.63 

8 

9 

303 . 73 
317.5 

296.33 
409.90 

10 
11 

400.36 

528.14 

543.04 

12 

498 . 80 
459.20 
352.04 

316.43 
471.47 
318.86 

280.1 
432.33 
359 . 1 1 

362.28 
397.53 
411.92 

13 
14 
15 

383 . 99 
374.22 

511.88 
443.15 

596.95 
393.66 

16 

326.9 
473 . 20 
445.2 

300.93 
460.32 
449.94 

17 

353 . 67 
331.60 

18 

395.12 

19 

20 

21 

434.0 
548.5 
305.0 
352.5 
331.6 
453 . 1 
379  3 

360.56 
376.6 

388.74 

406.03 

361.24 

280.27 

22 

23 

24 

459 . 70 
542.72 
445 . 70 
212.3 
251.8 

249 . 88 
369.63 
483.33 
332.95 

25 

544.82 
376.98 
366.58 

378.22 
398.15 

26 

27 

442.06 

428.19 

540.46 

28 

29 

354.3 

362.26 

348.81 

284.13 

344.47 

BULLETIN  314         cow   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA  173 


Cow 
30 

Age 
6 
5 
3 
3 
2 
H 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

n 

2 

3 

6 

3 

3 

11 

2 

2 

2 

3 

2 

H 

2 

n 

2 

2 

2\ 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

1909 
Lbs.  fat 

269.0 

197.5 

1910 
Lbs.  fat 

Table  11 — 

1911             1912 
Lbs.  fat       Lbs.  fat 

{Continued) 

1913 
Lbs.  fat 

1914 
Lbs.  fat 

1915 
Lbs.  fat 

1916 
Lbs.  fat 

1917 
Lbs.  fat 

31 

301.0 

375.1 
294 . 40 
421.1 

427.44 
343.23 
441 . 62 

361 . 58 
403 . 06 
355.09 

284 . 24 

448.4 

406.77 

• 

32 

457.05 

646.54 

710  43 

33 

303.3 

34 

272.9 

35 

36 

264.4 
254.9 
243.1 
330.9 
309.9 
274.3 
352.2 
184.2 

459.1 

258.51 

348.80 

305.90 

246.17 

300 . 7 

418.1 

414.76 

366.87 

433.23 

418.95 

503.41 

585  21 

37 

38 

381.43 
376.22 
290.17 

355.49 

260.54 
281.03 

301.05 
296.92 

422.08 
465.75 

453  80 

39 

498.22 

40 

41 

367.81 
375.83 

42 

377^35 

256.46 

381.58 

512  12 

43 

44 

45 

295.6 
271.3 

218.7 

296.90 

46 

47 

346.09 
402 . 32 
677.26 
263.7 
249 . 26 
108.10 
161.52 
143.94 

48 

456.83 
458.76 
332.76 
310.8 

447 . 52 
587.87 
335.83 
323.38 

439.20 
337.29 
386.76 
361.43 

486.95 
611.90 
483.27 
475.25 

595.99 

49 

632 . 99 

50 

510.88 

51 

488.41 

52 

53 

235 . 69 
283.51 
288 . 02 
338.18 
360.24 
303.61 
310.93 
263.94 

240 . 74 

54 

55 

259.11 
366.56 
190.65 

282.33 
331.99 

56 

424.97 

571.89 

57 

58 

59 

240.03 
270.64 

352 . 83 
303.91 

415.13 
416.12 

563 . 72 

60 

61 

62 

376.95 

367.32 

520.50 

63 

64 

319.13 
294.75 

432.14 
405 . 10 

550 . 20 

65 

66 

67 

263 . 59 
165.07 

383 . 72 
218.21 
288 . 33 
295.07 
294 . 56 
229.40 

508.85 

361.91 

383.72 

408.24 

479 . 76 

398.07 

366.88 

369.66. 

340.73 

318.62 

252.33 

528 . 35 

68 

69 

586 . 34 

70 

394 . 61 

71 

617.76 

72 

472.08 

73 

464.11 

74 

516.17 

75 

336.27 

76 

628.12 

77 

424 . 53 

78 

482.30 

79 

"  ; 

208.25 

80 

616.77 

81 

248.86 

82 

314.67 

83 

301.79 

174 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


SACRAMENTO-YOLO  COW  TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

The  Sacramento- Yolo  Cow-Testing  Association  comprises  herds 
located  chiefly  in  Sacramento  and  Yolo  Counties  along  the  Sacramento 
River.  Table  12  shows  the  results  of  three  years'  work  of  this  associa- 
tion. The  seven  herds  listed  are  those  which  have  been  in  the  associa- 
tion continuously  during  three  consecutive  years.  There  is  an  increase 
in  the  average  production  per  cow  of  389  pounds  of  milk  and  12.7 
pounds  of  butterfat.     For  the  640  cows  in  these  seven  herds  it  means 


Fig.  6. — Compare  the  conformation  of  this  Holstein  with  the  one  in  Fig.  7. 


an  increase  of  28,949  gallons  of  milk  and  8,128  pounds  of  butterfat. 
If  the  herds  listed  had  been  selling  market  milk  at  27  cents  per  gallon 
this  would  have  been  an  increase  of  $7,816.00;  or,  if  they  had  been 
selling  butterfat  at  50  cents  per  pound,  it  would  have  amounted  to  an 
additional  return  of  $4,512.00.  The  testing  for  the  entire  three  years 
did  not  cost  over  $2,900.00.  We  cannot  always  consider  that  the  cow- 
testing  work  alone  is  responsible  for  increases  in  the  average  production 
of  herds,  because  better  feeding  and  management,  conbined  with  the 
use  of  better  bulls,  usually  follows  in  the  wake  of  every  cow-testing  as- 
sociation, but  the  impulse  to  improvement  at  any  rate  came  from  the 
association. 


Bulletin  314        cow  TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS  IN   CALIFORNIA 


175 


In  order  to  stimulate  an  increased  interest  in  better  breeding,  better 
feeding  and  to  induce  more  careful  culling  the  Sacramento- Yolo  As- 
sociation has  started  a  dairy  cow  competition  for  the  benefit  of  its 
members,  which  has  been  remarkably  successful.  It  closely  follows 
the  lines  of  the  recent  state-wide  competition.* 

Judging  from  the  results  thus  far  obtained,  the  average  production 
of  the  herds  in  the  association  will  be  greatly  increased  this  year.  The 
importance  of  publicity  in  this  work  cannot  be  overestimated.  A 
great  stimulus  in  any  cow-testing  association  is  the  publicity  which 


Fig.  7. — The  Holstein  above  produced  7,837  lbs.  milk  containing  305  lbs.  fat  in 
one  year.  The  cow  in  Fig.  6  produced  6,059  lbs.  milk  containing  214  lbs.  fat  in 
one  year.     Regular  testing  showed  this  difference. 


is  given  to  the  work  through  the  publication  of  high  records  of  pro- 
duction and  other  results  in  the  various  dairy  papers. 

In  many  of  the  associations  dairymen  have  been  rather  slow  about 
weeding  out  the  unprofitable  cows  (boarder  cows).  Competitions  for 
members  of  the  cow-testing  associations  lends  additional  interest  to 
the  work.  Concrete  evidence  of  this  interest  is  given  in  the  fact  that 
there  is  already  a  waiting  list  of  dairymen  who  are  anxious  to  join  this 
association. 


*See  California  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  301. 


176 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


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BULLETIN  314         cow   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA 


177 


Fig.  8.— A  year's  testing  showed  great  variation  in  the  production  of  the  Jersey 
above  and  the  one  in  Fig.  9. 


Fig.  9. — The  Jersey  above  produced  6,471  lbs.  milk  containing  381  lbs.  fat.  The 
cow  in  Fig.  8  produced  5,259  lbs.  milk  containing  269  lbs.  fat.  Testing  shows  cows 
in  their  true  light. 


178  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


BODEGA  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

The  Bodega  Cow-Testing  Association  is  located  in  Marin  and  Sonoma 
Counties.  Hill  pasture  is  the  main  reliance  in  feeding  the  dairy  herds 
in  this  section  and  although  it  is  probable  that  the  high  average  produc- 
tion obtained  in  the  other  more  favored  sections  in  the  state  will  never 
be  realized,  the  dairymen  in  this  region  are  capable  of  greatly  improving 
their  herds. 

Table  13  gives  a  summary  of  three  years  'work  of  the  association. 
In  this  summary  are  included  only  the  cows  that  have  lactation  periods 
of  over  eight  months.  That  there  has  been  a  constant  and  steady 
increase  in  production  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  47.1  per  cent,  of  the 
cows  in  the  association  produced  over  200  pounds  of  fat  during  the 
third  year  of  the  association  work,  while  during  the  first  year  only  40.5 
produced  over  200  pounds.  The  need  for  continued  and  constant 
testing  is  very  apparent  from  these  figures. 

Table   13. — Three  Years'  Work  of  Bodega  Cow-Testing  Association 

1915-16   1916-17   1917-18 

Less  than  100  lbs.  fat 34  9  3 

100-125  lbs.  fat 49  47  14 

125-150  lbs.  fat 81  97  41 

150-175  lbs.  fat 125  131  65 

175-200  lbs.  fat 120  122  53 

200-250  lbs.  fat 184  189  94 

250-300  lbs.  fat 78  86  46 

300-400  lbs.  fat 15  27  17 

400-500  lbs.  fat 1 

500-600  lbs.  fat 1 

687  709  333 

1st  year  percentage  of  cows  below  150  lbs.  fat 23.9% 

2nd  year  percentage  of  cows  below  150  lbs.  fat 21.5% 

3rd  year  percentage  of  cows  below  150  lbs.  fat 17.3% 

1st  year  percentage  of  cows  over  200  lbs.  fat 40.5% 

2nd  year  percentage  of  cows  over  200  lbs.  fat 42.5% 

3rd  year  percentage  of  cows  over  200  lbs.  fat 47. 1% 

NAPA-SONOMA  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

Tables  14,  15  and  16  give  the  summaries  of  the  Napa-Sonoma, 
Napa-Petaluma  and  Sonoma-Marin  Associations.  As  these  associations 
covered  practically  the  same  territory,  they  are  listed  together.  How- 
ever, the  composition  of  the  membership  during  these  consecutive 
years  was  largely  different.  Comparisons  should  not  be  made  between 
the  various  years'  work  of  the  association.     The  need  for  more  testing, 


Bulletin  314         cow   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA  179 

however,  is  definitely  shown  by  studying  each  of  these  tables.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  during  the  first  year's  work  of  this  association,  four 
complete  herds  were  sold  out,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  owners  realized 
that  they  were  losing  money.  This  fact  could  scarcely  be  determined 
in  any  other  way  than  by  actually  testing  the  animals  in  these  herds. 

Table  14. — Yearly  Reports  of  Napa-Sonoma  Cow-Testing  Association 

Sept.  15;  1915  to  Sept.  15,  1916 

During  lactation  periods  of 

10-12  8-10  6-8  4-6 

months        months        months       months        Totals 

No.  of  cows  producing  400  lbs.  fat  or 

over 1  ....  ....  ....  1 

300-400  lbs.  fat 20  11  ....  ....  31 

200-300  lbs.  fat 74  91  20  ....  185 

150-200  lbs.  fat 29  123  70  ....  222 

Under  150  lbs.  fat 4  70  180  ....  254 

No.  of  cows  on  test  at  start  of  Association 985 

No.  of  complete  herds  sold  during  the  year 4 

Oct.  1,  1916  to  Sept.  30,  1917 

No.  of  cows  producing  400  lbs.  fat  or 

over 5  ....  ....  5 

300-400  lbs  fat 9  29  4  ....  42 

200-300  lbs  fat 49  197  117  13  376 

Under  200  lbs.  fat 10  505  303  213  1031 

Nov.  1,  1917  to  Oct.  31,  1918 

No.  of  cows  producing  400  lbs.  fat  or 

over 11  2  ....  ....  13 

300-400  lbs.  fat 59  39  ....  ....  98 

200-300  lbs.  fat 67  204  88  6  365 

Under  200  lbs.  fat 21  361  264  107  753 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  reports,  the  Petaluma  Co-operative 
Creamery,  (a  dairymen's  association,  including  many  farmers  in  the 
Napa-Sonoma  Association)  compiled  the  following  report  from  actual 
sales  of  butterfat  marketed  through  the  creamery.  No  additional  com- 
ment is  necessary  on  the  work  that  should  be  done  in  this  locality : 

"  REPORT  OF  PETALUMA  CO-OPERATIVE  CREAMERY 
"Production  Records  for  1918 

"This  report  is  made  that  you  may  compare  your  factory  (cows)  and  your  ability 
as  a  manager,  with  others  who  are  operating  under  the  same  or  similar  conditions. 

"Out  of  156  herds  we  have  carefully  checked  up  the  production  of  98  herds  and 
the  results  are  given  below. 

"The  average  price  paid  for  churning  fat  during  1918  by  this  company  was  a 
fraction  less  than  56  cents  per  pound.  We  have  used  this  figure  in  computing  returns 
for  the  different  groups. 


180 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


"  3  herds  containing  24  cows  averaged  321.2  lbs.  or  $179.87  per  cow. 
"  9  herds  containing  112  cows  averaged  279.6  lbs.  or  $156.57  per  cow. 
"17  herds  containing  499  cows  averaged  216.3  lbs.  or  $121.13  per  cow. 
"35  herds  containing  1572  cows  averaged  172.0  lbs.  or  $96.32  per  cow. 
"34  herds  containing  1952  cows  averaged  124.4  lbs.  or    $69.66  per  cow. 

"The  average  production  for  the  9S  herds  is  159  lbs.  per  cow  and  can  be  taken 
as  a  fair  indication  of  the  average  for  Sonoma  and  Marin  Counties. 

"There  is  evidently  a  big  opportunity  to  increase  the  production  per  cow  in  most 
of  the  herds  in  this  section. 

"If  this  report  points  out  to  our  dairymen  the  need  of  better  bred  cows,  better 
fed  cows,  and  the  necessity  of  watching  production  records,  then  we  have  accomplish- 
ed the  object  intended." 

SAN  JOAQUIN  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

The  following  report  of  the  San  Joaquin  Cow-Testing  Association 
shows  summary  results  for  the  year's  work  1915-16.  This  report, 
which  is  to  be  found  in  Table  15,  is  made  up  from  herds  belonging  to 
dairymen  who  have  remained  in  the  association  for  another  year's 
test,  during  the  last  year  and  a  half  of  the  association's  existence. 


Herd  number  200 

Herd  No.  1 25 

Herd  No.  2 14 

Herd  No.  3 39 

Herd  No.  4 7 

Herd  No.  5 10 

Herd  No.  6 1 

Herd  No.  7 7 

Herd  No.  8 4 

Herd  No.  9 1 

Herd  No.  10 28 

Herd  No.  11 52 

Herd  No.  12 26 


Total.:. 214 


Table  15 

00  to 
250 

250  to 
300 

300  to 
350 

350  to 
400 

400  to     500  to      Over 
500          600          600 

Total 

10 

27 

10 

7 

.3 

1 

83 

9 

8 

3 

34 

25 

25 

15 

6 

1 

111 

6 

3 

3 

1 

20 

17 

16 

4 

1 

48 

11 

6 

1 

4 

1 

24 

12 

16 

18 

13 

3 

69 

15 

6 

5 

30 

8 

4 

2 

15 

10 

18 

7 

63 

16 

11 

1 

80 

8 

14 

4 

5 

3 

60 

147 

154 

71 

38 

12 

1 

636 

One  cow  in  the  association  produced  over  600  pounds  of  butterfat 
during  the  period  of  12  months;  she  proved  to  be  in  a  class  by  herself, 
as  no  other  cow  came  within  175  pounds  of  her  mark.  Of  the  636  cows 
tested,  422,  or  66.3  per  cent,  of  them,  paid  a  profit  over  the  cost  of  their 
feed  and  care  and  214,  or  33.7  per  cent,  failed  to  pay  for  their  keep. 

In  working  out  the  cost  of  keeping  a  cow,  200  pounds  of  fat  at  an 
average  price  of  30  cents  (1915),  or  $60,  is  taken  as  the  cost  of  feeding 
a  cow  for  a  year.  The  value  of  her  calf  and  manure  is  taken  to  cover 
the  cost  of  her  care  and  milking.     Interest  on  the  investment  and  de- 


BULLETIN  314         C0W   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA 


181 


preciation  is  not  included  in  the  $60,  which  even  at  that  time  was  a 
very  low  figure  for  the  cost  of  feed  for  the  year. 

A  great  many  "  boarders  "  were  sold  after  a  six  months'  testing,  which 
was  sufficient  in  most  cases  to  detect  them.  However,  a  few  were 
held  over  for  a  second  trial  as  they  were  taken  sick  during  their  period 
of  test  and  did  not  have  a  fair  chance  or  else  they  were  heifers  with 
their  first  lactation  period  and  were  tried  again.  This  is  often  a  very 
wise  plan  to  pursue,  as  oftentimes  it  will  pay  to  await  the  completion 
of  a  second  lactation  period  before  passing  judgment  on  the  value  of  a 
cow  for  dairy  production. 

The  work  of  this  association  was  a  great  success,-  but  unfortunately 
it  was  used  only  by  the  dairymen  who  needed  it  the  least.  This  has 
been  found  true  in  practically  every • -association.--  If  33  per  cent,  of  the 
cows  in  the  best  dairies  in  San  Joaquin  County  proved  to  be  "boarders," 
there  is  no  wonder  that  there  is  often  the  cry  among  dairymen  that 
there  is  no  money  in  the  dairy  business.  There  should  be  214  cows 
above  the  300  mark,  instead  of  below  the  200  pound  mark.  The  300- 
pound  cow  would  have  paid  a  profit  above  the  cost  of  her  feed,  while 

the  200-pound  cow  was  kept  at  a  loss. 

■ 

KERN  COUNTY  COW-TESTING   ASSOCIATION 

A  summary  of  the  23  herds  in  the  Kern  County  Cow-Testing  As- 
sociation for  the  year  1916-1917  follows  in  Table  16. 

Herds  15  and  18  contain  18  cows  each.  The  production  of  the  cows 
in  15  was  139,557  pounds  of  milk  containing- 5482.7  pounds  of  butterfat, 
while  the  18  cows  in"  herd  number  18  produced  83,484  pounds  of  milk 
and  2994.2  pounds  of  butterfat.  With  milk  at  27  cents  a  gallon  this 
would  mean  an  increase  of  $1,760  in  the  income  of  herd  15  over  herd  18. 
With  fat  at  50  cents  per  pound,  the  increase  would  be  over  $100  per 
month.  The  cows  in  number  18  barely  paid  for  the  cost  of  feed,  re- 
turning little  if  anything  for  the  labor.  This  state  of  affairs  has  been 
brought  out  not  only  in  the  results  obtained  in  this  association,  but  in 
every  other  association  in  the  state.  There  are  still  herds  which  should 
not  exist  and  the . cow-testing  associations  have  been,  most  helpful  in 
finding  these  unprofitable  herds. 

Table  16.— Kern  County  Cow-Testing  Association 

Herd  No  1     2     3     4     5     6  7  8  9  10  11   12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  -21  22  23  Totals 

Under  100  lbs.  fat 000     00000000004003010000  8 

Between  100-200  lbs.  fat....: 0     4     4     5     1     2  0  0  0     0     3     2  10  13     0  10  17     4  13     0     2     0     0  90 

Between  200-300  lbs.  fat 13     3  15.5     5  49  1  4  5     3   15  12   16     8     7     5   1114   15     4     9     3     2  224 

Between  300-400  lbs.  fat 1     1     7     1     6     9  1  1  "1     7     4     7     4     0  11     0     0     0     6     4     1     0     1  73 

Between  400-500  lbs.  fat _0  ^  ^  J>  _0  _0  J)  jO  JO  JO  _0  _1  _0  _0 "_0    0-  [0  JO    -0  ^  JJ J)  _l  _j* 

Tota]s 14     8  28  11   12  60  2  5  6  10  22  22  30  25  18  15  3118  35     8  12     3     4  397 


182 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION 


KERN  COUNTY  ASSOCIATION 

PRODUCTION    OF  COWS     IN     HERDS-fBy    PERCENT) 

L  B5.     FRT        O-ioo        ioo-aoo      200-300       300-1400       400-500 


ORLAND  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

The  Orland  Cow-Testing  Association  (Glenn  County),  comprises  a 
large  number  of  small  herds,  chiefly  located  on  the  Orland  Irrigation 
Project.  The  summary  listed  in  Table  17  :t  a  compilation  of  the  results 
from  105  herds.  Even  in  the  small  herds  in  this  association  the  owners 
were  evidently  not  familiar  with  what  their  cows  were  doing  before 
testing  began  in  earnest,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  close  to  37 
per  cent,  of  the  cows  under  test  made  less  than  200  pounds  of  butterfat 
during  the  year. 


Bulletin  314       cow  TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA  183 

Table  17. — Orland  Cow-Testing  Association 

Production  per  year 

Under  100  lbs.  fat 29  (2.2%) 

Between  100-200  lbs.  fat 445  (34.7%) 

Between  200-300  lbs.  fat 565  (44.0%) 

Between  300-400  lbs.  fat 222  (17.3%) 

Between  400-500  lbs.  fat 21  (1.6%) 

Between  500-600  lbs.  fat 1  

Total 1283  100.0 


TULARE  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

Although  this  association  has  been  in  existence  since  1912,  complete 
records  are  available  for  only  a  few  herds.  Fortunately  the  records  for 
several  herds  for  two  or  three  consecutive  years  have  been  obtained  and 
are  given  below  in  Table  18.  Improvement  is  shown  in  every  herd 
listed  with  the  exception  of  one. 

Table  18. — Tulare  Cow-Testing  Association 

No.             Total                Total             Average  Average 

cows         lbs.  milk           lbs.  fat           lbs.  milk  lbs.  fat 

Herd  No.  1 

1st  Year 14         86,739            3373        6195  240.9 

2ndYear 10         71,389            3047        7139  304.7 

Herd  No.  2 

1st  Year 10         69,522            2899        6952  289.9 

2ndYear 13         95,353            3892         7335  299.4 

3rd  Year 7         69,342            2877         9906  411.0 

Herd  No.  3 

1st  Year 26       153,602            6737        5908  259.1 

2nd  Year 29        169,835            8720         5856  300.7 

Herd  No.  4 

1st  Year 45       326,328          10,945         7240.6  243.2 

2ndYear 48       289,299           9,590         6027  199.8 

Herd  No.  5 

1st  Year 16         99,018            4484        6188.6  280.2 

2nd  Year 6         45,204             1861         7534  310.1 

Herd  No.  6 

1st  Year 6         55,234            2146        9205  357.6 

2ndYear 10         93,809            3752         9380.9  275.2 

Herd  No.  7 

1st  Year 33       224,520           8,319         6804  252.1 

2ndYear 46       345,056         12,478        7501  271.3 


184  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


YOLO-SOLANO-COLUSA  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

Complete  records  of  seven  herds  in  this  association  are  available 
for  two  consecutive  years.  These  are  given  in  Table  19.  During  the 
first  year  21.9%  of  the  cows  in  this  association  fell  below  200  pounds  of 
butterfat.  During  the  second  year  this  percentage  fell  to  11.8%, 
no  cows  going  below  100  pounds  of  butterfat  for  the  year.  The  improve- 
ment is  especially  noticeable  in  herd  number  1 ,  where  the  24  cows  below 
200  pounds  during  the  first  year  were  reduced  to  8  during  the  following 
year,  with  no  cows  giving  less  than  100  pounds  of  fat. 

Table  19. — Summaries  of  Average  Production  for  Herds 

First  Year 

Totals 
Herd  No.         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  7  Herds 

Under  100  lbs.  fat 12  2  1  0           0  0           6 

100-200  lbs.  fat 23           9  3  3  6           5  4         53 

200-300  lbs.  fat 50         51  17  4  10         10  16       158 

300-400  lbs.  fat 22           8  2  3  2           5  6         48 

400-500  lbs.  fat 2           0  0  0  10  14 

Second  Year 

Under  100  lbs.  fat 00000000 

100-200  lbs.  fat 8860005         27 

200-300  lbs.  fat 44         37         14           2           8         14         13       132 

300-400  lbs.  fat 29           6           2           5           8           5           9         64 

400-500  lbs.  fat 40002006 

CORCORAN-HANFORD  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

Records  of  three  herds  in  the  Corcoran-Hanford  Cow-Testing 
Association  (Kings  County),  are  available;  the  summaries  tell  the  same 
tale  as  in  the  case  of  other  associations.  ; 

Table  20 

Production —  Herd  No.         I 

Under  100  lbs.  fat 3 

100-200  lbs.  fat 39 

200-300  lbs.  fat 74 

400-500  lbs.  fat 10 

500-600  lbs.  fat 

RIVERDALE  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

Records  of  five  herds  in  the  Riverdale  Cow-Testing  Association, 
(Fresno  County)  are  available.  53  per  cent,  of  the  cows  in  these  five 
herds  produced  less  than  200  pounds  of  butterfat,  while  only  11.8  per 
cent,  made  over  300  pounds.     A  herd  such  as  number  5,  with  56  cows 


2 

3 

Total 

1 

4 

8 

29 

56 

124 

54 

88 

216 

10 

25 

45 

1 

1 

BULLETIN  314         cow   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA  185 

out  of  80  producing  less  than  200  pounds  of  fat  cannot  return  a  fair 
profit  on  the  investment.  Unfortunately,  herds  such  as  number  5  are 
altogether  too  common  in  California. 

Table  21 

Production—  Herd  No.         1  2  3  4  5         Total 

Under  100  lbs.  fat 10  0           0  4  5  (2.7%) 

100-200  lbs.  fat 36           0  3           3  52  94  (50.3%) 

200-300  lbs.  fat 23           7  3           3  21  66  (35.3%) 

300-400  lbs.  fat 4          4  4          2  3  17  (9.1%) 

400-500  lbs.  fat 13  10  0  5  (2.7%) 

Lowest  producers,  lbs.  fat 87       234       152       101         86 

Highest  producers,  lbs.  fat 405       441       409       327       363 


IMPERIAL  COUNTY  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

Records  of  only  two  herds  were  received  from  this  association. 
Both  of  these  herds  were  among  the  best  in  the  county,  having  excellent 
averages.  (It  is  hoped  that  in  the  future  California  will  have  many 
such  herds). 

Herd  No.  1  Herd  No.  2 

Number  of  Cows 29  10 

Total  milk,  pounds 264,908  108,137 

Total  fat,  pounds 10,364.3  3,627.8 

Average  milk,  pounds 9,134.7  10,813.7 

Average  fat,  pounds 357.39  362.78 


YOLO  COUNTY  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION 

Seven  herds  completed  a  year  in  this  association  (1914-15).  The 
summary  given  below  is  in  terms  of  milk  production  as  well  as  fat  pro- 
duction. Many  dairymen  producing  market  milk  have  failed  to  see 
reasons  for  testing.  In  Table  22  given  below,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
milk  production  varies  in  the  same  way  as  fat  production  does,  and  the 
dairyman  depending  upon  the  volume  of  milk  should  be  as  much  interest- 
ed in  cow-testing  work  as  the  one  who  depends  upon  butterfat  produc- 
tion. Since  milk  records  are  available  it  is  only  a  question  of  making  the 
compilations.  Again  the  market-milk  producer  has  brought  up  the 
question  of  the  test,  admitting  perhaps  that  the  weighing  of  the  milk  is 
good  practice.  The  test  is  important  in  that  the  producer  of  market 
milk  should  not  allow  his  milk  to  fall  below  the  legal  standard.  He 
should,  therefore,  take  just  as  much  interest  in  the  testing  of  his  cows 
as  the  one  who  depends  upon  the  production  of  butterfat  by  the  cows. 


186 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Table  22. — Yolo  County  Cow-Testing}  Association 

Herd  No.  1  2  3             4             5             6 
Pounds    of    milk    produced 
between — 

2,000-  3,000 10  10  0          0 

3,000-  4,000 2  12  0          0          0 

4,000-  5,000 13  9  0          0           0 

5,000-  6,000 2  3  5           3           10 

6,000-  7,000 3  4  114          0 

7,000-  8,000 2  7  0           113 

8,000-  9,000 0  110  2          4 

9,000-10,000 0  0  0          0          3          7 

10,000-11,000 0  0  0          0          11 

11,000-12,000 0  0  0          10          4 

12,000-13,000 0  0  0          0          0          2 

14,000-15,000 0  0  0          0          0          1 

17,000-18,000 0  0  0          0          0          1 

Pounds  of  fat  between — 

100-200 3  3  15           1           1           0 

200-300 8  14  2          3         10           1 

300-400 0  2  2          2          2         11 

400-500 0  0  0          0          0          8 

500-600 0  0  0          0          0          3 


Total 


0 

2 

0 

5 

6 

19 

8 

22 

5 

18 

6 

20 

10 

18 

1 

11 

3 

5 

0 

5 

1 

3 

0 

1 

0 

1 

5 

28 

18 

56 

15 

34 

2 

10 

0 

3 

SUMMARY 

In  every  section  of  California  the  need  for  cow-testing  is  apparent; 
this  is  shown  in  a  striking  manner  by  the  records  of  the  work  of  the 
various  associations  in  the  state  published  in  this  bulletin. 

Continued  testing  is  necessary  for  progress.  The  dairyman  who 
tests  for  one  year  only  is  not  looking  to  the  future.  Cow-testing  work 
gives  a  valuable  breeding  guide  for  the  dairyman  who  wishes  to  build 
up  his  herd. 

Unfortunately  the  dairymen  who  need  cow-testing  the  most  use  it 
the  least.  However,  the  records  of  the  high-producing  herds  show  that 
the  greater  the  production  the  more  careful  the  culling  of  the  " boarder" 
cows  must  be. 

At  present  high  prices  for  feed  and  labor  a  dairy  herd  must  produce 
more  than  200  pounds  of  butterfat  per  cow  annually  in  order  to  yield 
a  profit  to  the  owner. 

Cow-testing  associations  have  proved  powerful  aids  in  increasing 
the  production  and  the  returns  from  dairy  herds;  every  dairy  district 
in  the  state  should  have  such  an  association  and  continue  it  year  after 
year.  The  Farm  Advisors  in  the  various  counties  and  the  Division  of 
Animal  Husbandry  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  stand  ready  to  aid  in 
every  way  possible  in  the  organization  and  continued  work  of  these 
associations. 


Bulletin  314         cow   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA  187 

APPENDIX 

I. 

CONSTITUTION  AND  BY-LAWS  FOR 
COOPERATIVE  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS 


CONSTITUTION 
ARTICLE  I.— NAME 

The  name  of  this  Association  shall  be 

CO-OPERATIVE  COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION. 

ARTICLE  II.— OBJECT 

The  object  of  this  Association  shall  be  to  provide  means  and  methods  for  improv- 
ing the  dairy  qualities  of  the  herds  of  members,  through  the  periodical  weighing  and 
testing  of  each  cow's  milk,  which  will  give  reliable  information,  on  the  basis  of  which 
unprofitable  cows  may  be  eliminated  and  feeding  done  more  economically;  and  fur- 
ther, by  ascertaining  the  profit  or  loss  as  compared  with  the  cost  of  feed  for  each  cow 
in  the  herd,  through  a  monthly  record  of  the  value  of  her  product  and  of  the  cost 
of  the  food  she  consumes  during  the  year;  and  in  general  to  promote  the  dairy  interests 
of  the  members. 

ARTICLE  III.— PLACE  OF  BUSINESS 

The  principal  office  and  place  of  business  shall  be  at 


ARTICLE  IV.— MEMBERSHIP 

This  Association  shall  be  composed  of  dairymen  or  owners  of  dairy  herds  accept- 
able to  the  board  of  directors,  who  enter  their  herds  for  record,  affix  their  signatures 
to  the  agreement,  and  agree  to  comply  with  the  by-laws. 

ARTICLE  V.— ORGANIZATION 

The  governing  body  of  this  Association  shall  consist  of  a  board  of  directors  of 
seven  active  members  to  be  elected  at  each  annual  meeting.  The  board  of  directors 
shall  annually  elect  from  their  own  number  a  president,  vice-president,  secretary, 
and  treasurer,  whose  duties  shah  be  those  usually  devolving  upon  such  officers.  The 
first  election  shall  be  held  immediately  after  the  election  of  the  board.  Subsequent 
elections  shall  be  held  annually  on  the  day  of  the  regular  meeting  of  the  board  next 
ensuing  after  the  annual  election,  the  day  to  be  fixed  by  resolution  of  the  board  of 
directors.  Officers  and  directors  shall  hold  their  offices  until  their  successors  are 
elected. 

ARTICLE  VI.— BUSINESS 

The  authority  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  Association  shall  be  vested  in  the 
board  of  directors,  a  majority  of  whom  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

ARTICLE  VII.— ELECTION 
Election  of  officers  and  directors  shall  be  by  ballot  and  majority  vote. 

ARTICLE  VIII.— AMENDMENTS 

This  constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  active  members 
of  the  Association  present  at  any  annual  meeting. 


188  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

BY-LAWS 

ARTICLE  I.— MEETINGS 

Section  1. — An  annual  meeting  of  this  Association  shall  be  held  at  a  place  and 

time  designated  by  the  board  of  directors  in 

on  the  first  Tuesday  of  the  month  preceding  the  month  in  which  this  Association 
began  actual  work,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  board  of  directors  and  for  the  trans- 
action of  such  other  business  as  may  lawfully  come  before  the  said  meeting. 

Section  2. — The  president  shall  call  one  meeting  every month,  to  be 

held  at  some  member's  home  or  elsewhere,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  topics  of 
interest  to  dairymen,  and  shall  at  each  meeting  appoint  a  committee  of  three  members 
who  shall  prepare  a  program  for  the  next  meeting.  No  member  shall  be  obliged  to 
serve  on  two  successive  program  committees. 

Section  3.— SPECIAL  MEETINGS.  The  president  or  board  of  directors, 
acting  through  the  secretary,  may  call  a  special  meeting  at  any  time.  If  the  special 
meeting  is  for  the  transaction  of  some  special  business  the  secretary  must  mail  each 
member  a  written  or  printed  notice  thereof  at  least  five  days  prior  to  such  meeting. 
Such  notice  shall  state  the  object  of  the  meeting  and  no  other  business  shall  be  trans- 
acted thereat. 

Section  4.— MEETINGS  OF  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS.  All  meetings  of 
the  board  of  directors  shall  be  called  by  the  secretary  on  the  order  of  the  president 
or  three  members  of  the  board. 

ARTICLE  II.— BUSINESS 

The  board  of  directors  shall  have  the  management  and  control  of  the  business 
of  the  Association.  They  may  employ  such  agents  as  they  deem  advisable,  fix  the 
rates  of  compensation,  and  make  contracts  with  all  such  agents  as  they  deem  ad- 
visable, fix  the  rates  of  compensation  and  make  contracts  with  all  such  agents  and 
employees. 

ARTICLE  III.— VACANCIES 

Whenever  any  vacancies  occur  in  the  board  of  directors  by  death,  resignation, 
or  otherwise,  the  same  shall  be  filled  without  undue  delay  by  the  majority  vote  of 
the  remaining  members  of  the  board.  The  person  so  chosen  shall  hold  office  until 
the  next  annual  meeting. 

ARTICLE  IV.— ARREARS  OF  DUES 

No  member  whose  dues,  as  stated  in  the  agreement,  are  sixty  days  in  arrears, 
shall  be  allowed  to  vote  at  any  business  meeting. 

ARTICLE  V.— ORDER  OF  BUSINESS 

1.  Reading  minutes  of  previous  meetings. 

2.  Report  of  secretary. 

3.  Report  of  treasurer. 

4.  Reports  of  committees. 

5.  Unfinished  business. 

6.  New  business. 

7.  Election  of  officers. 

ARTICLE  VI.— AMENDMENTS 

These  by-laws  may  be  amended  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  active  members 
present  at  any  regular  meeting. 


Bulletin  314        cow  TESTING  ASSOCIATIONS  IN   CALIFORNIA  189 

II. 

MEMBERS'  AGREEMENT  FOR  COW-TESTING 

ASSOCIATIONS 


WHEREAS,  the CO-OPERATIVE 

COW-TESTING  ASSOCIATION  is  organized  for  the  purpose  of  providing  means 
for  the  co-operation  of  its  members  in  ascertaining  the  relative  merits  of  their  cows, 
and  in  the  economical  production  of  dairy  products;  and 

WHEREAS,  the  Association  agrees,  from  monthly  tests  (twenty-four  hours  in 
length)  made  by  an  employee  of  the  association,  to  furnish  each  member  with  a  record 
of  the  individual  performance  of  each  animal  subscribed,  and  to  advise  the  members 
in  regard  to  economical  feeding  and  the  improvement  of  their  herds;  and 

WHEREAS,  we  by  the  act  of  affixing  our  signatures  below  express  our  desire  of 
becoming  members  of  said  Association,  for  the  object  above  stated; 

NOW  THEREFORE,  in  consideration  of  our  admission  to  membership  and  the 
services  above  mentioned,  we  make  this  agreement  with  said  association  and  with 
the  other  persons  who  are  now  or  shall  hereafter  become  members  of  said  association ; 

WF,  SEVERALLY  agree  and  promise  to  pay  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Association 

the  sum  of for  ONE  YEAR'S  RECORD  of  each  and 

every  one  of  the  cows  in  our  respective  herds  as  entered  below  opposite  our  signatures; 
with  the  following  provisos,  namely:  That  the  charge  for  one  herd  shall  not  be  less 

than ;  and  that  the  tester  shall  not  test  more  than 

in  one  day,  but  shall  give  two  or  more  days'  service  each 

month,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  cows  in  the  herd,  if  larger  than  thirty;  and 
we  severally  agree  to  pay  for  the  yearly  records  of  our  herds  on  this  basis.  It  is 
agreed  that  the  rate  of  payment  for  additional  cows  entered  after  the  year  is  begun 

shall  be per  month  per  cow  or per  cow  for 

the  remainder  of  the  year,  at  the  option  of  the  owner. 

WE  AGREE  that  if  any  cow  in  the  test  dies  or  is  sold  from  the  herd  before  the 
year  is  ended,  there  shall  be  NO  REDUCTION  in  the  amount  to  be  paid;  but  another 
cow  may  be  substituted  in  place  of  the  SOLD  OR  DEAD  COW.  Aside  from  this 
no  cow  shall  be  REPLACED  BY  ANOTHER,  in  the  number  of  cows  undergoing 
test.  The  secretary  must  be  notified  before  the  second  test  of  all  new  cows,  whether 
substituted  for  ones  previously  in  the  test  or  entered  as  additional  cows. 

We  severally  agree  to  make  payments  for  such  testing  SEMI-ANNUALY,  the 
first  payment  to  be  due  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  the  month  in  which  the  tester 
begins  actual  work,  and  the  second  payment  to  be  due  on  or  before  the  last  day  of 
the  sixth  month  thereafter.  And  we  severally  agree  to  TAKE  OR  SEND  the  money 
to  the  treasurer  of  the  Association  WITHOUT  BEING  CALLED  ON  THEREFOR. 

We  further  agree  to  furnish  BOARD  AND  LODGING  for  the  man  employed  as 
tester  by  said  Association  for  at  least  one  day  of  each  month,  and  over  Sunday  and 
holidays,  at  the  house  to  which  his  regular  course  brings  him  to  on  Saturday  or  the 
day  before  a  holiday;  and  to  CONVEY  him  to  his  next  place  of  work  or  to  STABLE 
AND  FEED  his  horse  while  he  is  staying  at  the  farm  in  lieu  of  furnishing  him  trans- 
portation to  his  next  place  of  work. 


190  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION 

We  jointly  and  severally  agree  to  be  subject  to  the  by-laws  of  this  Association. 

This  agrement  is  not  binding  unless  the  said  Association  secures  a  sufficient 
number  of  cows  to  warrant  starting  operations. 

The  term  of  this  agreement  shall  be  ONE  YEAR  from  the  time  the  testing  begins. 

For  the 


Co-operative  Cow-Testing  Association. 

President. 


Attest. 


Secretary 

SIGNATURES  OF  MEMBERS 

Number  Amount 

No.  Date  Signature  of  Cows        to  be  paid 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 


III. 

CONTRACT   OF   EMPLOYMENT   OF   TESTERS 

THIS  AGREEMENT,  made  and  entered  into  this day 

of ,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 

by  and  between  the .....Testing  Association  of 

,  State  of ,  hereinafter  called  the 

Association,  party  of  the  first  part,  and 

State  of ,  hereinafter  called  the  Tester,  party 

of  the  second  part; 

WHEREAS,  the  Association  is  organized  for  the  purpose  of  providing  for  the 
cooperation  of  its  members  in  ascertaining  the  relative  merits  of  their  cows,  and  in 
the  production  of  dairy  products,  and  has  agreed  with  its  members  to  furnish  the 


BULLETIN  31-t         cow   TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA  191 

services  of  a  competent  person  to  make  monthly  tests  of  the  cows  subscribed  by  them 
for  the  purposes  of  said  tests,  to  keep  a  record  of  the  original  performance  of  each 
animal  tested  and  advise  said  members  regarding  the  economical  feeding  and  im- 
provement of  their  herds; 

AND  WHEREAS,  in  the  furtherance  of  the  aforesaid  objects  and  purposes,  the 

Association  is  desirous  of  employing  said for 

making  the  tests  and  performing  the  services  and  duties  along  the  lines  stated  afore- 
said and  according  to  the  terms  and  conditions  hereinafter  expressed,  and  the  said 

representing  himself  as  thoroughly  competent  to 

perform  the  services  required  and  wishing  to  accept  such  employment ; 

NOW,  THEREFORE,  THIS  AGREEMENT  WITNESSETH: 

FIRST:  The  Association  agrees  to  employ  said  Tester  for  the  period  of  one  year, 

commencing  on  the day  of 19 ,  and  ending 

19 ,  to  perform  the  services  hereinafter  set  forth, 

paying  him  an  annual  salary  of dollars  therefor, 

in  equal  monthly  installments,  on  the day  of  each  month. 

(a)  Making  monthly  tests  of  such  herds  as  he  may  be  directed  so  to  do  by  said 
Association  for  determining  the  relative  merits  of  the  respective  herds.  The  herds 
selected  shall  belong  to  members  of  said  Association  and  be  subscribed  by  them  for 
the  purpose  of  said  tests,  and  said  herds  shall  not  exceed  a  number  that  can  not  be 
conveniently  tested  in  twenty-six  (26)  days  of  each  month.  The  animals  required 
to  be  tested  each  day  shall  not  exceed  thirty  (30)  in  number.  Said  Tester  shall 
keep  a  record  of  each  cow  tested,  and  shall  advise  the  members  of  the  Association, 
owning  the  cows,  how  to  feed  the  animals  economically  and  how  to  improve  their 
herds. 

(b)  Obtaining  the  weight  of  all  feeds  given  each  cow  entered  for  record  each 
testing  day  and  keeping  a  record  of  the  number  of  days  each  cow  is  on  pasture. 

(c)  Weighing  and  taking  proportionate  samples  of  the  milk  of  each  cow  entered 
the  evening  before  and  the  morning  of  the  testing  day. 

(d)  Testing  for  butterfat  the  milk  of  each  cow  entered. 

(e)  Placing  the  data  obtained  from  the  tests  on  records  blanks  furnished  therefor 
by  the  Association  and  copying  the  records  of  each  herd  on  the  record  book  of  the 
owner. 

(f)  Carrying  a  skimmed  milk  bottle  and  testing  the  skimmed  milk  to  show  the 
present  efficiency  of  the  separators  used  by  the  members  of  the  Association. 

(g)  Properly  filling  out  and  sending  in  to  the  proper  State  official  a  monthly 
report  of  the  work  provided  for  herein,  if  such  report  is  required  by  the  State  author- 
ities. 

(h)  Making  a  yearly  summary  of  the  records  of  each  member's  herd  and  entering 
the  same  in  the  Association's  record  book  and  in  the  books  of  its  respective  members. 

(i)  Making  a  yearly  summary  of  the  entire  herds  tested,  preparing  two  copies 
of  same,  one  for  the  official  in  charge  of  cow-testing  association  work  for  the  State, 
and  the  other  for  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

SECOND:  The  tester  hereby  agrees  to  faithfully,  promptly  and  efficiently 
perform  all  the  aforementioned  services  in  manner  and  upon  the  conditions  herein- 
before outlined,  and  according  to  such  directions  and  plans  that  may  be  given  him 
in  relation  thereto  by  said  Association,  accepting  as  a  consideration  therefor  thb 


192  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

salary,  payable  in  equal  monthly  installments,  as  specified  aforesaid.  Payment  of 
said  salary  is  conditioned  upon  the  prompt  and  efficient  performance  of  all  duties 
and  services  contemplated  by  this  agreement,  and  failure  on  the  part  of  the  Tester 
to  perform  such  duties  and  services  in  manner  as  herein  provided  shall  operate  to 
give  the  Association  authority  to  summarily  dismiss  said  Tester  and  terminate  this 
agreement  without  the  Association  incurring  any  liability  to  said  Tester  by  reason 
of  taking  such  action,  and  if  said  Tester  shall  be  dismissed  for  cause,  as  stated,  such 
action  shall  operate  as  a  forfeiture  of  his  last  month's  salary  to  the  Association. 
The  secretary  of  said  Association  shall  examine  the  records  of  the  Association  not 
less  than  one  week  before  the  day  of  the  month  on  which  the  installment  of  the 
tester's  salary  is  payable  hereunder,  and  if  the  records  of  said  Association  disclose 
that  the  tester  has  been  negligent  in  the  performance  of  the  services  herein  required, 
payment  of  the  salary  due  said  tester  shall  be  withheld  by  the  Association  until 
the  tester  has  brought  the  records  required  by  this  agreement  accurately  to  date. 

THIRD:  It  is  mutually  understood  and  agreed  between  the  parties  hereto  as 
follows : 

1.  That  the  Association  shall  have  each  of  its  members  furnish  said  Tester 
with  board  and  lodging  for  at  least  one  day  each  month,  and  over  Sunday  and  on  a 
legal  holiday,  if  his  regular  course  of  employment  brings  him  to  a  member's  farm  on 
Saturday  or  the  day  before  a  holiday;  and  to  convey  the  Tester  to  his  next  place  of 
work  or  to  a  stable  and  feed  his  horse  in  lieu  of  transporting  him  to  his  next  place 
of  work. 

2.  That  the  Association  shall  furnish  the  Tester  with  the  necessary  outfit  for 
the  execution  of  the  work  herein  provided  for,  for  which  outfit  the  Tester  shall  be 
entirely  responsible,  except  unavoidable  breakage.  Said  Tester  shall,  upon  demand, 
return  the  outfit  so  provided,  to  the  Association,  complete  and  in  good  condition. 

3.  That  said  Tester  shall  notify  the  Association  and  the  State  official  in  charge 
of  cow-testing  associations  at  least  one  nonth  before  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  whether 
he  wishes  to  continue  as  Tester  for  said  Association  for  another  year. 

4.  That  in  the  event  the  Association  disbands  for  any  cause  whatsoever  such 
disbandment  shall  operate  as  a  termination  of  this  agreement  and  thereafter  no 
salary  shall  be  due  or  payable  hereunder  to  said  Tester. 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF  the  parties  hereto  have  exectued  this  agreement  on 
the  day,  month  and  year  first  hereinbefore  written. 


Testing  Association. 

By 

President. 

By 

Secretary. 


Bulletin  314         cow  TESTING   ASSOCIATIONS   IN    CALIFORNIA  193 

CONTRACT  OF  COW  TESTING   DEPARTMENT   OF 
SAN  JOAQUIN  COUNTY  FARM  BUREAU 

Whereas,  the  San  Joaquin  County  Farm  Bureau  Cow  Testing  Department  has 
been  organized  for  the  principal  purpose  of  providing  means  for  the  co-operation 
of  its  members  in  ascertaining  the  relative  merits  of  the  cows  and  in  the  economical 
production  of  their  product,  and 

Whereas,  the  Cow  Testing  Department  agrees  from  monthly  tests  made  by  an 
employee  of  the  department  to  furnish  each  member  with  a  record  of  the  individual 
performance  of  each  animal  subscribed,  and  to  advise  the  members  in  regard  to  the 
economical  feeding  and  improvement  of  their  herd,  and 

Whereas,  I, ,  a  member  of  the  San  Joaquin  County  Farm 

Bureau,  am  desirous  of  becoming  a  member  of  said  department  for  the  object  above 
stated. 

Now,  therefore,  in  consideration  of  my  membership  and  the  services  above 
mentioned,  I  agree  and  promise  to  pay  to  the  tester  or  secretary  of  the  San  Joaquin 
County  Farm  Bureau  for  the  Cow  Testing  Department,  the  sum  of  15  cents  per  head 
per  month  for  each  cow  tested,  if  the  herd  is  less  than  fifty  (50)  cows;  12  cents  per 
head  per  month  for  herds  containing  fifty  (50)  or  more  up  to  one  hundred  (100)  cows; 
11  cents  per  head  per  month  for  herds  over  one  hundred  (100)  cows,  all  cows  in  herd 
milking  to  be  tested,  and  I  agree  to  pay  monthly  for  such  testing  as  it  is  done;  and 
I  agree  that  if  for  any  reason,  I  do  not  wish  to  have  my  herd  tested  when  the  tester 
calls  on  his  regular  round  that  I  will  pay  the  amount  agreed  upon  as  though  the  test 
were  made;  and  I  agree  to  furnish  board  and  lodging  for  the  tester  employed  by  the 
Cow  Testing  Department  for  at  least  one  day  each  month,  and  over  Sunday  if  his 
regular  course  brings  him  to  my  house  on  Saturday. 

The  terms  of  this  agreement  shall  be  for  one  year  and  the  signer  hereto  becomes 
a  member  of  the  Cow  Testing  Department  for  that  period. 

Dated,  Stockton,  Cal., 

Signed 

Address 

Number  of  Cows 


